


too early for this

by ollietwist



Series: Penderwick Oneshots [4]
Category: The Penderwicks Series - Jeanne Birdsall
Genre: Gen, Sisterly bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-09-17
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26506621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ollietwist/pseuds/ollietwist
Summary: Skye and Jane go on a run.
Relationships: Skye Penderwick & Jane Penderwick
Series: Penderwick Oneshots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1788112
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	too early for this

**Author's Note:**

> I am back to writing because it's once again Quarantine Time (Not Leaving My House At All Edition). And so why not write about my two favorite characters doing what I love while being slightly ooc? Here we go. 
> 
> (Fun fact: I wrote the first two lines for this like two months ago and then did not touch it until now. Writing is fun)

“ _Stop_. It’s too early. Let me sleep.”

  
A poke. “Get up you lazy bum. We’re going to be late.”

  
“Skye it’s six in the morning.”

  
“And? You said you wanted to get better and getting better means putting in work. And work is at six am.”

“But why?” said Jane as she rolled over, covering her head with a pillow.

“Because school starts at eight, and in these two hours we need to run, clean up, and go to school. So get up or give up.”

“I feel like that’s a false dichotomy.”

“No that’s reality so get up.”

“Well I reject that reality and substitute my own.”

“You can’t say that every time you don’t like something. Besides what are you substituting it with? Pure talent with no effort behind it? Like what you’ve already been doing?”

A heavy sigh.

“Fine. I’ll just go without you.” She turned to leave the room.

“No, wait. I’ll come. Just give me five minutes.”

Jane rolled off her bed to sit and rub her eyes. Her hair stuck up in every direction and she looked as though being conscious was the last thing she wanted. But she fumbled through her room and pulled on her workout clothes. By the time she pulled her hair up, she was more awake and more aware of Skye’s tapping foot and frequent looks at her watch.

“Okay I’m ready.”

“Good, let’s go.”

With that Skye turned and walked out their room and rushed down the stairs.

They went out the front door and Jane followed Skye’s lead as she began to jump and do some light stretching.

“You ready?” asked Skye.

“Yep.”

“Alright. Here we go.”

With that Skye’s watch beeped and they took off down Gardam Steet.

“You know, running at six in the morning kinda really sucks, but it is nice out,” said Jane.

“Running at six in the morning sucks because you aren’t used to it,” replied Skye. “But once you do, it’s the best. There’s almost no one out, you can see the sunrise, and by the time you’re done you feel so accomplished and it isn’t even seven.”

“Wait how long are we running for?”

“Just a half hour.”

“What? That long?”

“Jane. We practice for at least two hours everyday after school for a game that is ninety minutes long and mostly running.”

“Yeah but there’s breaks and subs and stuff. I don’t run for a half hour straight.”

“And now you are. And you’re going to be better for it.”

“How? And is this all we’re doing this morning?”

“Yes. I’m just starting you off easy. That and there’s not enough time since you didn’t get up early enough.”

“Wait. What do you mean by ‘enough time?’”

“Well sometimes I go longer or add in some sprints or I’ll do a quick circuit after a short run. It depends on the day,” Skye said with a shrug.

“Lots of questions there but mostly why?”

“Because I’m not as talented as you. Don’t look so surprised.”

Jane blinked. “But you match me on the field perfectly.”

“Yeah. Because of this.” She gestured at the surrounding area. “Because I get up at sunrise every morning to run and drill. I do a lot of work outside of practice just so I can keep up with you.”

Jane shook her head. “I don’t believe it.”

“What’s so unbelievable?”

“All this! That you are able to say that I’m more talented than you but yet you do all this? There’s no way I could compare.”

“Jane, you’re really selling yourself short. I do this because I have to. You’re at the same level and you do none of this. You’re insanely talented just from working at practice. I do all this to further my strength and endurance to cover for your great ball handling skills.”

“Why have I never noticed this?”

Skye laughed. “Well at six in the morning you’re usually dead to the world and the only thing waking you up is a cold shower. And you’re honestly not the most perceptive person.”

“Hey! I perceive a lot! Just last week I was the one to notice Maya and John –“

“I’m going to stop you right there. The last thing I need this morning is updates on everyone’s dating life. But whatever. I’ll grant that you notice relationships between people but that’s generally it. You’re so focused on human interactions that you miss the details that are taking place.”

“I do not.”

“Really? Did you notice Lucy favoring her right side the other day while attacking? Do you know that Rosy comes in every night from walking with Tommy at exactly 9:36 for some reason? Did you notice that I didn’t lock the front door before we left?”

“No I guess. I missed all that.”

“Oh how are you my sister? Jane, you have a gift narrative and grand themes and when you get into it, your characters are intricately detailed. But you’re so lost in your own mind that sometimes you forget there’s a world outside of you.”

“But still, I should have noticed you doing all this.”

“I don’t do it for people to notice. In the end, no one cares what I did to get where I am. They only care about how I perform. And I care how I perform. I love this sport too much to let people think negatively of me, especially when I’m not the only one with ‘Penderwick’ on my jersey. The extra effort doesn’t get recognized by anyone and that’s alright. I know what I do and that’s good enough for me.”

“Wow, Skye. You sound so mature. Who are you and what have you done with my sister?”

“Oh piss off.”

Jane laughed. “That’s more like it. So why is this helpful again? I feel like I’m dying.”

“It increases your aerobic capacity and endurance. Eventually you’ll be able to run this no problem. Your body just needs to get used to going for this long. Speaking of which, we can turn around now.”

“Oh thank God.”

They ran a bit longer, the companionable silence filling the space between.

“Okay I take it back. This was actually pretty nice,” said Jane.

“Agreed.”

“Thanks for making me get up and do this. Still don’t know how you do it everyday.”

A chuckle. “Thanks for actually getting up. It’s nice to talk to someone rather than just my own thoughts for once.”

The corner to Gardam Street came into view.

Skye side-eyed Jane. “Race you home? Start at the corner?”

“Seriously?” Skye grinned and nodded. “You’re on.”

As the corner grew closer they steadily grew faster, until they turned the corner and sprinted past the neighbors as they charged for their house at the end of the street.

Feet pounding pavement and labored breaths filled the air as burning legs pushed just a little harder.

Skye pulled ahead in the end, running into the yard for her finish.

Jane came in behind, falling on the grass. “How on earth did you do that?”

Grinning down at her sister, “Endurance.”

“You suck,” Jane panted.

“To be fair I usually sprint from the bottom of the street to the house to end my runs.”

“Okay you really suck. But this means I get first shower.”

“You lost. That’s not how this works.”

“I called dibs. Just give me a few minutes to mourn my loss in this grass and try to feel like my body is no longer on fire.”

“You’re going to be here all morning.”

“Fake news.”

“Real news. And while you’re doing that I’m going to shower.”

She turned to walk into the house.

“Hey Skye.” She turned around. “Your left shoe’s untied. Thought you should know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Very rarely do I feel like a fic really captures what it is like to simply go for a simple training run and it's been a while since I've run for only 30 minutes (I did 80 today) that I cannot remember how to converse over that time. 
> 
> This was inspired by line in The Penderwicks on Gardam Street in which Skye mentions that Jane has more talent than her. While I think that's true, my headcanon is that Skye loves the sport more than Jane and continues on playing into college whereas Jane quits after Skye leaves. 
> 
> I really just wanted to write about these sisters bonding over their sport and helping each other get better. What an ideal sibling relationship. Also why did I only write a wall of dialogue? You probably have a better answer than me.
> 
> Come visit me at skye-penderwick on tumblr


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